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I moved up here a year ago and would like to start hunting but I want to do it right, especially when it comes to processing and storing meat. I've owned a cheap vacuum packer years ago that never really worked right. So what manufacturer/ model do you guys recommend? I'm also going to need to invest in a freezer and I'm not sure how big I need to go. Any size recommendations would be appreciated. Ideally I would have a moose in the fall going on top of 50 lbs of salmon. Thanks in advance for any advice.

PM me if you are interested in small chest freezer - Free, but you need to clean out.
Its not mine but I can put you in touch. Maybe bring the guy a 12pk of Amber.

More for theOCD types with chest freezers. I had a bunch of 8" and 10" PVC drainagetubes that were 3' long that I turned on end and put in the 14' chest freezer.I used then to divided my burgers and other cuts as well as bagged veggies andfruit. Lost a little space but my OCD is satiated!

Stid and northway, I bought my VP112 a few years before they showed up locally. It worked great until the air pistons that make the seal bar pop up started to not work every cycle. I called VacMaster and they sent me to their parts wholesaler to buy a little solinoid valve. It is the most common point of failure for these units they told me. The part costs about $10 plus shipping and takes about 5 minutes to replace. The hardest part is getting the old part out since it is glued and screwed down to the base metal. Now my old unit seals with its original authority.

So, if you ever notice that the seal bar gets a little funky and creates a partial seal, or does not seal at all every 10 or 12 cycles, just give VacMaster a call and get a new part on the way. Might even be handy to have one sitting by incase in starts acting up when you have a cooler full of reds or a moose to process.

I borrowed my buddies VP 120, the little piston that you speak of has issues. It has done about 4 moose and some fish. I called Vacmaster and another place they recommended and the part is $6.50 but the shipping is $35-$55 cuz Alaska. The part weighs a couple ounces. Alaska Butcher Supply services the Vacmaster sealers but only the larger models, I believe 210 and above. I highly recommend talking with them before buying a sealer that you want to last. The nice thing about owning your own, rather than renting, is the option to seal a small amount of or fish/game, as needed. Also, the food saver bags are way overpriced at FM or anywhere.

My cabelas cg-15 is starting to act up - taking more kits and sealing bars that it used to...adding up in maintenance costs; so, I am looking at chamber sealers now. Going to go in on one with my uncle. He likes the cabelas vpc115 because it has a lifetime warranty. I cannot determine whether it has an oil pump (stronger and longer lasting). I can find zero reviews on them. Does anyone have any time with one of these?? 800$

Also looking at a VP215. 1 year limited warranty. Oil pump. about 1000$ (or cabelas sells the vp215c for 900 or so).

I'd like to stay around $1K but yet have a life long lasting packer that gets passed on to the next generation.

I just got the VacMaster VP-210 from Amazon for $764 shipped free with prime shipping. As mentioned, chamber machines can vacuum seal liquids, so it is well worth it. I have used a FoodSaver type for years and it's been fine, but having used chamber machines in the past, I know the difference is huge. And, as was said, you can buy the bags for a lot less and they are better quality.

Also got the 1lb game bags and tape machine. Looks really fast and efficient. Excited to use it, hopefully for spring bear!

I agree with others and also recommend buying the largest upright freezer you can afford. I have a chest and an upright and the chest now only holds bulk items I find deals on, meat or fish I need to further process and can't finish, or overflow from the upright. When you want to have salmon one night, burgers the next, and halibut the next, you will quickly hate the chest freezer. I easily fit a whole large moose, a whole caribou, and all of the salmon and ocean fish I caught into it, with room for a ham, some smoked salmon candy, and about 50lbs of mackerel from a gulf trip down south. And I can get to all of it easily.

Picked up a 15lb sausage stuffer that gets great reviews and has some user photos that really sold me. If you've ever used one, you will love it compared to stuffing with the grinder.
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) There is a patty attachment made by the same company for making formed burgers right out of the stuffer.

I also got a 24lb meat mixer by the same company. It isn't essential, but it sure will keep your hands from freezing when you're working with half-frozen meat all day.

I opted for a less expensive grinder from Sams or Costco - don't remember which. Might upgrade eventually, but if it's a huge amount I want done and I need it fast, I just take it to Pioneer Meats. They bulk grind (usually the spot) for $0.75/lb and that includes the fat for burger meat, so hard to beat sometimes.

We have a VP210 from Costco, actually got it from a place that ended up with all the Costco display units and got it for $750 a few years back. We used it constantly, enough that it sits in our dining room on the floor under a chair. We buy bulk meat at Costco and seal it into individual packs, save leftovers, seal our own fish and game etc. I bought a meat slicer and now we cut all our own lunch meat from turkey breasts and hams from Costco. Once you have a chamber vac you find many uses for it. Heck my kids still get a kick out of putting stuffed animals in it and sealing them in a bag. They are spendy up front but pay out on the end.

On a side note, Amazon has free prime shipping on the VP210 for $750ish and looks to have free shipping on the VP215 as well. Crazy good price.

2007 Kingfisher 2825 - Stor Fisk

Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top. -- Hunter S. Thompson

For the peak of berry harvest, moose, and fish in later summer and fall, as well as some domestic meats, we run an antique Montgomery Ward 18.5 (?) cu. ft upright, and a newer, energy star-rated 21.5 cu ft. upright.

We've stuck with uprights, as trying to find much in a crowded chest freezer is more time than I'm willing to invest in recovering something I already once knew where it was.

We have several other freezers of various sizes scattered about, in case we encounter over-flow in the Fall, as we once did when we ate obscene amounts of red meats.

As far as vac sealers, my first fairly deluxe Food Saver quit after only several years. but the thing that most commonly trashes them, in my opinion, is the liquid, oil, small scraps etc., from what ever you're sealing (especially fish).

We rarely (almost never) use our sealer for red meats, other than for sausages and things like that. Double-wrapping tightly in waxed pro-grade freezer paper and keeping the freezers COLD (-15 to -20 when they're in top condition) has had me finding packages of meat that were three years old or more, and looked and tasted like they'd been frozen the month before.

The Food Saver deluxe model I have now has been used for everything you can imagine (with the exception of most red meats), and has been stroking for going on 15 years with no problems. The difference is that when we seal up salmon or halibut, whether smoked or fresh, we typically initially glaze the fillets in the freezer (laying them on lightly greased cookie sheets, trays, etc.) until they're frozen on the outer crust, but still a bit pliable internally, arresting the fluids and oils for the most part. We then wrap them tightly in industrial plastic wrap, THEN seal them in the freezer bags.

FDA says smoked salmon is maybe good in the freezer for about a 6-month period; we've eaten smoked fish that was nearly 2 years in the freezer, done as described above, and it was excellent still.

Keeping the juices and oils from the fish from the compressor, and keeping the trough in the sealer clean as well, has led to my sealer lasting ten times as long as others' with the same model(s)

We use the VacMaster VP-215 for all our fish, game, deli meats, cheeses, and much more. We usually carry fish and game to the two year mark before eating as we try to eat the oldest stuff first. I use 4 mil bags and have great luck keeping things as good as they were from the first day of freezing. One huge advantage has been our two upright freezers to lay fillets, steaks, or burger meat flat, and later being able to store them in an efficient way.

I think with any vacuum sealer, it is good to check on your bags a day or two later to see which bags may have popped. It's usually slim to none depending in your prep, but any bags I may have missed get turned into smoked fish or sausage as it hides freezer burnt taste. Some trimming required.

It comes down to how much you want to spend and how much you are sealing in a given year. If you do 4 kings, 20 sockeye, and a caribou or moose a year, it may be time to upgrade to to VacMaster. If your doing less, you could squeeze by with a Food Saver. It all comes down to how you value your harvest. I can say with the chambered VacMaster it seems to make almost everything last longer. The real kicker for your girlfriend or wife is to use it after you do a Costco run. I jokingly say how I am going to the "freezer market" since buying in bulk cuts down in expenses and helps up meal plan. I also like to do bulk recipes and freeze the remaining stew, pulled meat, or whatever after. It has also been valuable on camping, fishing, and hunting trips where we can have meals that have been already cooked and just need to be heated before meals. No more mountain houses for us(unless sheep hunting).There are certainly cheaper ways of keeping your catch or harvest frozen while still having the flavor retained. All depends on the individuals preference, knowledge, and budget.

I do hate seeing people with several pounds of freezer burnt fish trying to give it away just before dipnet season. I know I am not alone but if your willing to catch your fish or harvest your game, you should do your best to make sure it lasts and cut down over harvesting public resources.

For those that have owned both the chamber and the vacuum style sealers, which one is faster? I watched a few demonstrations at butcher supply and the chamber one seemed pretty slow compared to my old school foodsaver. Also, it seems to me that the chamber one i was looking at weighed 80 lbs or so, do you just have a place you can leave it out all of the time because i don't see myself putting it away very easily. I bought one of the italian made foodsavers from butcher supply way back when they were on tudor road back maybe late 80's or possibly early 90's and the pump is starting to get noisy. I see that they brought it back but its under another brand but it looks identical. I love the idea of the chamber but speed and weight may be a factor.

For those that have owned both the chamber and the vacuum style sealers, which one is faster? I watched a few demonstrations at butcher supply and the chamber one seemed pretty slow compared to my old school foodsaver. Also, it seems to me that the chamber one i was looking at weighed 80 lbs or so, do you just have a place you can leave it out all of the time because i don't see myself putting it away very easily. I bought one of the italian made foodsavers from butcher supply way back when they were on tudor road back maybe late 80's or possibly early 90's and the pump is starting to get noisy. I see that they brought it back but its under another brand but it looks identical. I love the idea of the chamber but speed and weight may be a factor.

Yes chamber vacs weigh more.
But they are worth it.
Bags are much cheaper also and that should be a consideration.
As for speed I haven't done a side by side comparison.
I will say foodsavers require breaks to cool off. Breaks the chamber sealer doesn't need.
I'm guessing that alone will make up the difference in speed. Plus no worries if your fish/game is wet with the chamber sealer.
Cheaper/better bags, no cooling off breaks, ability to seal wet foods, better seals, etc. etc.
Why would you bother with the suck type machines if your budget allows?

For those that have owned both the chamber and the vacuum style sealers, which one is faster? I watched a few demonstrations at butcher supply and the chamber one seemed pretty slow compared to my old school foodsaver.

The chamber sealers are faster in that you don't have to seal both ends of the bags like with foodsaver rolls and you don't have to take breaks. If you're only doing a few fish, it might be maaaaybe a few seconds faster with a foodsaver style sealer, but for bulk the chamber sealer will be way faster due to no cool-down breaks. The quality of the seal, though, is the most key difference.

I have both and while the chamber sealer is much heavier and slower per bag I will not be going back to the vacuum style. As mentioned already, any time you are processing a large volume you will be faster with a chamber sealer. They are great for anything wet like fish or stews. You can even seal a bag of water with absolutely no air in it and not spill a drop.

Another point about them is that chamber sealers will take both chamber bags and regular sealer bags so if you upgrade you don't have to get rid of any unused bags.

I leave my chamber sealer set up in a shed on top of an old short dresser. I keep all my bags and processing supplies in the draw and just place a box over the sealer to keep dust out.

If you are on the fence and live in Anchorage why not try renting from Alaska butcher supply and see how you like it before you buy.